Why it’s important to make time to bake

An ice cream sundae is easy to make at home. Liz Hafalia/The San Francisco Chronicle 2007

I don’t completely buy the argument that people would bake and make desserts if they had more time. If you look at how you spend your time over the course of a day there are things you can cut out. Take a break from internet/email/Twitter. Turn off the TV. Instead of visiting with a friend at a coffee shop, go home, get out the flour and sugar, preheat the oven and bake together. Making cookies with your kids is quality time and you get to eat something delicious at the end.

You may not have time to bake everyday but that is actually good, since we should be eating dessert that often anyway.

There are great desserts that can be made in a short period of time. The frozen section of the grocery store is the perfect place to find timesavers. Take your favorite two flavors of ice cream and combine with caramel or chocolate sauce, toasted sliced almonds, and cocoa nibs to make a sundae. In a sauté pan warm berries or cut up peaches with enough orange juice to make a sauce, sugar to taste and spoon over vanilla ice cream. Layer three kinds of sorbet in a loaf pan to make a colorful terrine.

Many recipes that that take longer to prepare can be broken up into separate time chunks. You can work them around your schedule. If you want to make a layer cake, bake the cake on day one. Wrap well and leave at room temperature. The next day make the frosting and frost it. For a pie, on the first day make the dough and put it in the pan. Refrigerate overnight and the next day fill and bake the pie.

Dessert making doesn’t have to be labor intensive or time consuming. Have fun and get baking.